Nurse holding planet

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).[9] It was first identified in December 2019 in Wuhan, Hubei, China, and has resulted in an ongoing pandemic.[10][11] The first confirmed case has been traced back to 17 November 2019 in Hubei.[12] As of 14 July 2020, more than 13.1 million cases have been reported across 188 countries and territories, resulting in more than 573,000 deaths. More than 7.26 million people have recovered.[8]

Common symptoms include fever, cough, fatigue, shortness of breath, and loss of smell and taste.[13][5][6][14] While the majority of cases result in mild symptoms, some progress to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) possibly precipitated by cytokine storm,[15] multi-organ failure, septic shock, and blood clots.[16][17][18] The time from exposure to onset of symptoms is typically around five days, but may range from two to fourteen days.[5][19]

The virus is p